5 Tools for a Successful First Year With HomeAdvisor

by HomeAdvisor

How One Pro Took His Business from Fledgling to Booming in Under a Year

How can you make the most of your first year in business? Take it from Anthony Reyes, Co-owner of A.P. Excavation and Landscaping in Fort Collins, Colorado: A HomeAdvisor membership is a great start, but it’s vigilance, reputation management and a growth mindset that will really take your company from fledgling project to bustling business.

1. Using HomeAdvisor and the App

HomeAdvisor can be a helpful launching point for a new business. And if you familiarize yourself with the app from the get-go, you’ll be adept at tracking your leads and managing your membership from anywhere.

“We had the company started only about three months and then we got HomeAdvisor,” Reyes says. “We had a friend refer us; we got into it and it started to be the best thing for us. After that, it pretty much changed for our company. We had a lot more leads, better leads and a lot more work. We didn’t think it was going to blow us up with so much work and so many good potential clients. We took our chances and we don’t regret it.”

2. Designating an Administrator

Vigilance is key in using the app to grow and manage your business, says Reyes.

“You have to have someone in your company to monitor it,” he says. “You have to be on top of it, like everything else. If you’re not on top of it, it’s going to get on top of you, and that’s not good. You could lose a lot of potential jobs.”

3. Making the Most of Opportunity Leads

With opportunity leads, you have a chance to step outside of your lead area or scope of services in order to grow your company and expand your reach. Reyes and his team have found opportunity leads to be an excellent and convenient source for new business.

“I like how it’s there but I don’t have to accept it right away,” Reyes says. “I can think about it and say: ‘Okay, I have these other jobs waiting for me. We’re really busy.’ You get those clients that are just waiting for the right contractor. And once we respond, they immediately call us back and we start the job right away.”

4. Curating a Reputation

How you present yourself is an integral part of landing leads. Rather than wonder about the competition, Reyes focuses on his own company attitude and appearance in order to project a trustworthy image.

“It all depends on how you are as a person, how you approach a customer, how you dress – all of that matters. We have a uniform. We are as professional as possible. We respond as fast as we can. That’s what helps us get up there. One HomeAdvisor client, he told us that the reason we got the job was because of how we presented ourselves. Be aware of what you’re doing in front of the customers. Something as simple as that can make you lose the job.”

5. Keeping a Growth Mindset

It’s all well and good to have a great attitude and a stellar portfolio, but if you don’t put it out there with the aim to grow, you aren’t maximizing on all of your opportunities. Here are a few ways Reyes and his team put themselves and their work in front of customers:

– Business Cards: “We just got new business cards,” Reyes says. “And they actually say that we’re accredited with the BBB and that we’re 5-star rated on HomeAdvisor. I feel that helps so much.”

– Contractor Connections: Reyes and his team work to build relationships with other contractors in their area, such as landscapers, who can refer them to relevant jobs.

– Marketing Maintenance: Reyes is sure to keep up with the company’s internet presence, updating photos of projects, providing a good amount of information and encouraging reviews.

– Customer Care: “Be patient with your customers and always try to have the ultimate goal that you want to satisfy them and you’re there to make them happy,” Reyes advises.